Argentina
Nigeria
South Korea
Greece
Nickname: To Piratiko - The Pirate Ship (arrgh, I have no idea why… (actually I do know – their fans started calling them The Pirate Ship because of the ship used in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Euro Cup, which they won))
Colors: Blue, white
Current World Ranking: 10
Manager: Otto Rehhagel, known as “King Otto” by the adoring Greek fans, has managed the team for almost a decade now and the German will be the oldest manager at this Cup. Prior to his arrival Greece were absolutely horrid on the international stage and it wasn’t until he brought some of his German tactics that things turned around for them.
History: Greece first qualified for a World Cup Final in 1994 in the US but performed miserably losing to Argentina, Bulgaria and Nigeria by conceding 10 goals and scoring none. Soccernomics had this to say about their showing, “When Greece somehow made it to the World Cup of 1994, it ended up regretting it. At the team's training sessions outside Boston, an outfield player would stand in the goal while the others blasted shots into the bushes. They spent most of the tournament traveling the East Coast to receptions with Greek Americans, though they did find time to be thrashed in three matches.” Now that I read that I remember watching the documentary on Greece’s first World Cup called, My Big Fat Greek Disappointing Debut at the World Cup.
They then failed to qualify for each of the next 3 tournaments. In fact, this will be only their second Finals ever.
The peak of Greek international soccer occurred in 2004 when they came out of nowhere to win the European Cup. They started out the qualification for the Euros like bumbling idiots, losing their first two matches, but stormed back and amazingly won their final 6 games to finish atop their group. They faced off against the host, Portugal, in the first match of the Finals where they surprised everyone by winning 2-1. In the second game they shocked Spain by getting a 1-1 draw after going down by a goal before halftime. In the final game of the Group Stage they went down to Russia by two goals in the first 10 minutes but got one back which earned them a spot in the next round by going ahead of Spain on goal difference. In the Quarters they faced off against the undefeated reigning champs, France, beating them 1-0 and becoming the first team to ever beat the host and the reigning champs in the same tournament. In the Semis they took down the undefeated Czech Republic after scoring in the first extra period after the initial 90 minutes ended 0-0. Amazingly the final was a repeat of the opening match against Portugal, which Greece went on to win 1-0 in to complete the overall tournament in what some consider to be the greatest upset in football history.
They couldn’t repeat that success in 2008 though, not even advancing out of the Group Stage.
Greece got their 2010 qualifying off to a great start winning their first 3 games but struggled mightily thereafter and only qualified for the Finals after beating Ukraine in a two-match playoff.
Players: Most all of the players compete in the Greek league, which means they all play a consistent style of soccer, but also means they don’t have a lot of the international pedigree that other European teams have as the Greek league is pretty weak compared to the others. On paper they shouldn’t be able to compete, but on the pitch they can thanks to a core group of hardened veterans.
Georgios Karagounis: The 34-year-old captains the squad that he first suited up for in 2002. He played in integral part in their Euro 2004 triumph, scoring the opening goal of the tournament. He currently plays for Panathinaikos in Greece.
Sotirios Kyrgiakos: Even though he’s 31 he looks like a 50-year-old mob hitman/samurai. He currently plays for my team, Liverpool, though I don’t really care for the guy at all because he’s better at breaking legs and getting red cards than doing anything else. That is to say, this guy is a hard-nosed defender who shows no mercy on the pitch. He made his international debut in 2002 but missed the ’04 Euros due to injury.
Theofanis Gekas: the top scorer in European Zone qualifying with 10 goals. In December the 30-year-old made a transfer from the German club Bayer Leverkusen to Hertha BSC. In his career he has led both the Greek and German leagues in goals (not at the same time; that’d be some sort of record)
Angelos Charisteas: He made his international debut in 2001 and has done nothing but score goals since then, including the winning goal against Portugal in Euro 2004 and 4 goals in qualification for WC10. The 30-year-old currently plays for Germany’s FC Nuremberg.
Prediction: It may be a bit much to suggest that the current economic woes in the homeland will affect the team’s performance in South Africa, but it certainly won’t help them. I was shocked to learn that they’re currently ranked 10th in the world and I’m not convinced they’re a top ten team, though admittedly I haven’t seen them play since the ’08 Euros. I still think Argentina will beat them but I may need to reconsider my prediction for the runner up in the group. Yes, Nigeria has the home continent advantage; yes, Greece struggled through qualification; yes, South Korea breezed through their own qualification; man, this is a tough one. I still think the nod goes to Nigeria, but don’t be surprised if Greece perform well. Still, I’ll go on record as saying I will eat 8 gyros in a single sitting if they advance out of the Group Stage.
One final note on this group: Did you see this article the other day?
It seems Maradona's dog doesn't even like him. Either that or his dog really likes cocaine and Maradona still had some residue on his face.
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